A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Genre: Historical Fiction
Blurb (on back of book):
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"
The story is set in the late 18th century against the background of the French Revolution. Although Dickens borrowed from Thomas Carlyle's history, The French Revolution, for his sprawling tale of London and revolutionary Paris, the novel offers more drama than accuracy.
The scenes of large-scale mob violence are especially vivid, if superficial in historical understanding. The complex plot involves Sydney Carton's sacrifice of his own life on behalf of his friends Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette. While political events drive the story, Dickens takes a decidedly antipolitical tone, lambasting both aristocratic tyranny and revolutionary excess--the latter memorably caricatured in Madame Defarge, who knits beside the guillotine.
When former aristocrat Charles Darnay learns that an old family servant needs his help, he abandons his safe haven in England and returns to Paris. But once there, the Revolutionary authorities arrest him not for anything he has done, but for his rich family's crimes. Also in danger: his wife, Lucie, their young daughter, and her aged father, who have followed him across the Channel.
MY OPINION: ****
I read this book via Kindle, one of the first. It took longer than I had hoped but it was to be expected, honestly. The ending made it infinitesimally better and really made me enjoy the book that much more. There was a lot going on in this book and I admit I found it hard to concentrate at times and was forced to go back and reread the several lengthy paragraphs that we had in this book.
I started it a while ago as a "book club book" that we never finished. I don't think we even got through the first couple of chapters and rereading the beginning this time around, I can definitely tell why. It's a little confusing and hard to understand what's going on and on top of that, you're looking for the hidden things and symbolism of every word while reading. So it's tough.
But once you make it to the second part of the book, it gets going from there and the first part isn't as long as you think. It takes a lot of self-will and determination at points (or at least for me) but at others, it goes by like a breeze.
It was hard to tell what was going on and who was who at times but there was a lot that I did understand and did love/not love.
DOCTOR MANETTE:
I think that's how you spell his last name... Anyway, his character is taken from jail and reunited with his daughter, Lucie, who is a fundamental character as well. He has experienced a lot and he sometimes goes through relapses to his mental disorder where he loses sight of everyone around him and everything that's going on. He is a kind, loyal man who knows what he cares about. He learns to forgive people which I thought was an admirable trait of his.
LUCIE MANETTE:
She didn't seem like a huge part of the book when reading but when you think about it, she ties in with almost every character in some way, whether by marriage, friendship, or being hated. She was innocent and sweet and I mostly disregarded her at times to focus on the more important scenes and other characters.
CHARLES "DARNAY" EVREMONDE:
I actually liked his character. I could understand most of his story. He had too many burdens put on him that he didn't deserve or want all because of his birthline. He's different from his family but I think it was hard for people to understand that he's not like the rest of his rather horrible family and that he's his own independent person. I really felt bad for him and hated all of the unfair rules of the time that honestly didn't make any logical sense.
SYDNEY CARTON:
Honestly my favorite character of the book, hands down.
Everything that happened at the end killed me. I loved him but I definitely understood his sacrifice, especially because I believe he was already sick? He loved Lucie and sacrificed his life to keep her happy. He was cynical in a way and was relatable. He understood that his choices/mistakes got him to a place in life where he couldn't be fully happy with himself. He loves Lucie and it was so sweet. The whole confession scene was so sad.
PLOT:
This was historical fiction. It was based on the revolutionaries of Paris, France and the historical events surrounding the time. Sometimes, there were things that confused me (especially determining which character was what!) but all in all, the plot was not as complex as you would think. Of course, you have to read between the lines, make inferences, and such, but if you read it through without doing that you get a vague enough idea of what is going on that you can understand the events.
ENDING:
I think most of you know how this ends but for those of you who don't...
It was SO sad. I felt for Sydney Carton and I really want to know what happened after. Did Charles ever get caught or did they leave the country? What happened to everyone? I would have liked more closure.
Would I read this again? Probably in the FAR future. Did I like it? Yes, more than I expected. I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a lengthy historical read.
Main Character: Lucie, Doctor, Sydney, Charles, Jerry, etc
Sidekick(s): Mr. Lorry, etc
Villain(s): The DeFarges (they weren't really villains but they were shown as not the best people of the book), revolutionaries, war, etc
Historical Fiction Elements: This is based on historical events.
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